1. Students will observe a set of chemical reactions and identify the reactants and products of those reactions.
2. Students will be able to classify each reaction (combination, decomposition, single-replacement, double-replacement, or combustion) and write a balanced equation.
3. Students will predict the products of the reactions in each of the four mini labs.
B. Formal Assessment
1. Students will complete a 30 question test consisting of multiple choice and short answer questions.
III. Assessments
A. Description of Informal Assessment
This assessment is in the form of a laboratory exercise which consists of four "mini labs". Each of the mini labs demonstrates a different type of chemical reaction. Some of the reactions have been demonstrated in class prior to the lab period, however, students will be instructed on how to perform each lab and what is expected of them in order to complete the assignment. Each student will receive a packet which contains the procedures for each mini lab, a data table to record their observations, a section to write the correct, balanced chemical equation for each lab, and a list of questions to be answered. Students will be assessed in the following manner: To ensure class participation students will be assessed on the quality/detail of their observations. They will also be assessed on their ability to classify a chemical reaction and predict its products. Finally, students will be graded on the responses to the questions posed for each mini lab. Students will not be required to submit a formal lab write-up for this assignment. Instead, they will be asked to hand in their data sheet, list of chemical equations, and answered questions. I hope to determine whether or not students are able to identify different types of chemical reactions and if they are able to predict the products. The grading scheme for this assessment is as follows: one point for each question answered correctly (12 possible points), two points for each correctly written/balanced chemical equation (8 possible points), and five points for a complete data sheet with each reaction classified correctly (5 possible points) - for a total of 25 points. Students will work in groups of two and rotate around to each of the four stations (each station consisting of one of the four mini labs).
The formal assessment is in the form of a chapter test (chapter 7) consisting of 26 multiple choice questions and 4 short answer questions for a total of 30 questions. Each question is worth 3 1/3 points with partial credit given (where applicable) to the short answer questions. The test is designed for a 50 minute period and should take students anywhere from 25 minutes to the entire 50 minute period. The chapter 7 test consists of the following material: The mole/Avagadro's number, mole conversions (mass, volume, number of representative particles), and percent composition of compounds. The questions asked are designed for students to recall vocabulary, conceptual understanding of the material, and problem solving steps.
The class content being assessed during the laboratory exercise consists mainly of material covered in chapter 8 titled "Chemical Reactions". This material includes balancing equations, identifying types of chemical reactions, and predicting the products of chemical reactions based on their classification. There is also a recall of material learned in chapter 6 - writing and naming chemical formulas.
Formal Assessment
The class content being assessed during the chapter 7 test consists of the following material: The mole/Avagadro's number, mole conversions (mass, volume, number of representative particles), and percent composition of compounds.
On average students who turned in the assignment on time scored fairly well. They had an easy time classifying the type of chemical equation, however, the majority of the students found it difficult to predict the reaction products. This gave me some insight into what i needed to focus on during the review period before the chapter test on the same material. Students worked well in groups of 2 and remained on task for the majority of the period. I believe this was partially due to the fact that they had seen a few of the labs demonstrated prior to the lab period and now had an opportunity to try the reactions on their own.
The overall average on the chapter 7 test was a 63.5%, with a high score of a 91% and a low score of 18%. Students spent anywhere from 25 minutes to an hour working on the test. Out of 14 students, there were 2 A's, 2 B's, 2 C's, 1 D, and 7 F's. The class consists of 8 boys and 7 girls (one girl however did not take the test and has not made it up despite progress reports and phone calls home; therefore, the average represents 6 girls). The average score for the boys in the class was a 66%. The average score for the girls was a 63%. So, on average males scored 3% higher on this test than females; however, there were two fewer females than males in the group focused on.
V. Commentary / Reflection
A. Reflections from Informal Assessment
I enjoyed teaching this lab and felt that it went quite well overall. The students were engaged for the majority of the lab period and appeared to welcome the opportunity for some hands-on learning. The reason for choosing the groups of two was that I wanted everyone to have someone to bounce ideas off of, but I didn't want one or two people doing all the work and having the rest off task. Having the students rotate around to the different stations also helped move them through the lab in a timely fassion. Both of these strategies worked quite well and I intend to use them in the future. By demonstrating the some of the labs first (during a different period) and then letting the students perform them on their own accomplishes two things. It recalls information previously presented, and reinforces the concept of how to identify different types of chemical reactions. Many students turned in their lab assignment late, which I deducted points for, so the grades for the late labs don't accuratly show the students' understanding of the material. Turning in late assignments (or no assignment at all) tends to be a trend in with this class which is part of the reason that I decided to accept late work with them.
B. Reflections from Formal Assessment
I believe that the test given was successful in covering all of the material covered in chapter 7. Despite the high failure rate I also believe that it was a fair assessment (I also had my CT review and ok the test before-hand). The class period before the test was spent reviewing material in the following manner: Students were given a study guide, a list of practice problems from their text (which included a solution set to check their answers), and a practice test (with answer key). The class was spent going through a step-by-step approach to each type of problem that they would potentially encounter on their test. They were told which tables and vocabulary to focus on also. We spent a good amount of time on the chapter and judging from quizes and worksheets I had expected a higher average on the test. I believe there were two factors in the low scores, one being my own inexperience in teaching/presentation methods (this was my first unit that I taught). The second is the level of the students in the class. I was told by my CT that grades were right where they should be judging on the students' past performance. Still I would have liked to see higher grades overall. When I teach this unit in the future I believe that repetition of problem types may be a good strategy.
VI. Conclusions
In conclusion, I feel that both assessments gave me accurate indication of whether or not my students were absorbing the material that I was presenting. I believe that the chapter test did a good job of this, however, I believe that nerves/test anxiety/lack of studying/lack of teacher experience contributed to the low scores. The lab worked very well at activly engaging each student and producing artifacts which I used to assess their understanding of identifying types of chemical reactions and predicting their products. Through this experience I have determined that both forms of assessment are very important tools to used when probing to see what your students actually know. I have learned that by giving many informal assessments (other than just quizes) you are better able to catch student misconceptions before it is time for a formal assessment such as a test or exam (which are generally heavily weighted in the students final grade).
Formal and Informal Assessment of Student Learning
Name:
I. Assignment Description/Requirements
Formal Informal Assessments 2009
II. Description of Learning Goals
A. Informal Assessment
1. Students will observe a set of chemical reactions and identify the reactants and products of those reactions.2. Students will be able to classify each reaction (combination, decomposition, single-replacement, double-replacement, or combustion) and write a balanced equation.
3. Students will predict the products of the reactions in each of the four mini labs.
B. Formal Assessment
1. Students will complete a 30 question test consisting of multiple choice and short answer questions.III. Assessments
A. Description of Informal Assessment
This assessment is in the form of a laboratory exercise which consists of four "mini labs". Each of the mini labs demonstrates a different type of chemical reaction. Some of the reactions have been demonstrated in class prior to the lab period, however, students will be instructed on how to perform each lab and what is expected of them in order to complete the assignment. Each student will receive a packet which contains the procedures for each mini lab, a data table to record their observations, a section to write the correct, balanced chemical equation for each lab, and a list of questions to be answered. Students will be assessed in the following manner: To ensure class participation students will be assessed on the quality/detail of their observations. They will also be assessed on their ability to classify a chemical reaction and predict its products. Finally, students will be graded on the responses to the questions posed for each mini lab. Students will not be required to submit a formal lab write-up for this assignment. Instead, they will be asked to hand in their data sheet, list of chemical equations, and answered questions. I hope to determine whether or not students are able to identify different types of chemical reactions and if they are able to predict the products. The grading scheme for this assessment is as follows: one point for each question answered correctly (12 possible points), two points for each correctly written/balanced chemical equation (8 possible points), and five points for a complete data sheet with each reaction classified correctly (5 possible points) - for a total of 25 points. Students will work in groups of two and rotate around to each of the four stations (each station consisting of one of the four mini labs).B. Description of Formal Assessment
The formal assessment is in the form of a chapter test (chapter 7) consisting of 26 multiple choice questions and 4 short answer questions for a total of 30 questions. Each question is worth 3 1/3 points with partial credit given (where applicable) to the short answer questions. The test is designed for a 50 minute period and should take students anywhere from 25 minutes to the entire 50 minute period. The chapter 7 test consists of the following material: The mole/Avagadro's number, mole conversions (mass, volume, number of representative particles), and percent composition of compounds. The questions asked are designed for students to recall vocabulary, conceptual understanding of the material, and problem solving steps.IV. Analysis
A. Description of Class Context
- Informal Assessment
The class content being assessed during the laboratory exercise consists mainly of material covered in chapter 8 titled "Chemical Reactions". This material includes balancing equations, identifying types of chemical reactions, and predicting the products of chemical reactions based on their classification. There is also a recall of material learned in chapter 6 - writing and naming chemical formulas.- Formal Assessment
The class content being assessed during the chapter 7 test consists of the following material: The mole/Avagadro's number, mole conversions (mass, volume, number of representative particles), and percent composition of compounds.B. Analysis of Informal Assessment
- Link to samples of student work:
Mini Labs student work 1sc.doc
- Details
- Download
- 5 MB
Mini Labs student work 2sh.doc
- Details
- Download
- 7 MB
On average students who turned in the assignment on time scored fairly well. They had an easy time classifying the type of chemical equation, however, the majority of the students found it difficult to predict the reaction products. This gave me some insight into what i needed to focus on during the review period before the chapter test on the same material. Students worked well in groups of 2 and remained on task for the majority of the period. I believe this was partially due to the fact that they had seen a few of the labs demonstrated prior to the lab period and now had an opportunity to try the reactions on their own.C. Analysis of Formal Assessment
- Link to samples of student work:
Chapter 7 test student work 1sc.doc
- Details
- Download
- 3 MB
Chapter 7 test student work 2ss.doc
- Details
- Download
- 2 MB
Chapter 7 test student work 3kt.doc
- Details
- Download
- 2 MB
Chapter 7 test answer key.doc
- Details
- Download
- 693 KB
The overall average on the chapter 7 test was a 63.5%, with a high score of a 91% and a low score of 18%. Students spent anywhere from 25 minutes to an hour working on the test. Out of 14 students, there were 2 A's, 2 B's, 2 C's, 1 D, and 7 F's. The class consists of 8 boys and 7 girls (one girl however did not take the test and has not made it up despite progress reports and phone calls home; therefore, the average represents 6 girls). The average score for the boys in the class was a 66%. The average score for the girls was a 63%. So, on average males scored 3% higher on this test than females; however, there were two fewer females than males in the group focused on.V. Commentary / Reflection
A. Reflections from Informal Assessment
I enjoyed teaching this lab and felt that it went quite well overall. The students were engaged for the majority of the lab period and appeared to welcome the opportunity for some hands-on learning. The reason for choosing the groups of two was that I wanted everyone to have someone to bounce ideas off of, but I didn't want one or two people doing all the work and having the rest off task. Having the students rotate around to the different stations also helped move them through the lab in a timely fassion. Both of these strategies worked quite well and I intend to use them in the future. By demonstrating the some of the labs first (during a different period) and then letting the students perform them on their own accomplishes two things. It recalls information previously presented, and reinforces the concept of how to identify different types of chemical reactions. Many students turned in their lab assignment late, which I deducted points for, so the grades for the late labs don't accuratly show the students' understanding of the material. Turning in late assignments (or no assignment at all) tends to be a trend in with this class which is part of the reason that I decided to accept late work with them.B. Reflections from Formal Assessment
I believe that the test given was successful in covering all of the material covered in chapter 7. Despite the high failure rate I also believe that it was a fair assessment (I also had my CT review and ok the test before-hand). The class period before the test was spent reviewing material in the following manner: Students were given a study guide, a list of practice problems from their text (which included a solution set to check their answers), and a practice test (with answer key). The class was spent going through a step-by-step approach to each type of problem that they would potentially encounter on their test. They were told which tables and vocabulary to focus on also. We spent a good amount of time on the chapter and judging from quizes and worksheets I had expected a higher average on the test. I believe there were two factors in the low scores, one being my own inexperience in teaching/presentation methods (this was my first unit that I taught). The second is the level of the students in the class. I was told by my CT that grades were right where they should be judging on the students' past performance. Still I would have liked to see higher grades overall. When I teach this unit in the future I believe that repetition of problem types may be a good strategy.VI. Conclusions
In conclusion, I feel that both assessments gave me accurate indication of whether or not my students were absorbing the material that I was presenting. I believe that the chapter test did a good job of this, however, I believe that nerves/test anxiety/lack of studying/lack of teacher experience contributed to the low scores. The lab worked very well at activly engaging each student and producing artifacts which I used to assess their understanding of identifying types of chemical reactions and predicting their products. Through this experience I have determined that both forms of assessment are very important tools to used when probing to see what your students actually know. I have learned that by giving many informal assessments (other than just quizes) you are better able to catch student misconceptions before it is time for a formal assessment such as a test or exam (which are generally heavily weighted in the students final grade).